After the Headlines - First Christmas comes for twins born a week apart

This After the Headlines story is a follow-up to stories that appeared in The Repository on April 2 and July 23. Today: We catch up with Plain Township twins — born one week apart — Noah and Grace Renz. Sunday: The closure of Troup & Pluto studios in Canton stirs some unexpected memories for a Marlboro Township man.

It was Noah who made it to their Middlebranch Avenue NE home in May, four months before his sister, who underwent surgery to close an opening in her heart.

Today the Renz family is celebrating their first Christmas together.

ON A SCHEDULE

“It’s all different now,” said the twins’ father, Dennis, 29. “My son is almost crawling, and they’re both moving around a lot.”

Healthy and happy.

They sleep in separate cribs in their jungle green, monkey-themed nursery.

Since their birth, Dennis has become a certified emergency medical technician and now works three, 12-hour shifts for a service in North Lima.

“When I’m off, I get up with the babies at night,” he said. “And when I’m working, Jennifer does. Everything’s settling down and working into a schedule.”

Jennifer, 27, said the lights on the Christmas tree fascinate the siblings. Get-togethers for both sides of the family are planned today. It’s sure to be a Christmas, the new parents say, that will be twice as special.